This English-language summary issued by the Acehnese government (Indonesia) explains the all-encompassing role of sharīʿa in Aceh. It clarifies that sharīʿa does not apply to non-Muslims, and that its implementation in no way repudiates human rights standards, including freedom of religion. Read the document.

South Asia editor Zubair Abbasi surveys the influence of England’s Privy Council – also known as the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council – on awqāf (Islamic endowments, or trusts). As the highest court of appeal in the British Empire, "[t]he Privy Council contributed towards the development of several legal principles in Islamic endowment law," in attempts to standardize law throughout the colonies. Its jurisprudence in turn … Continue reading The Long Shadow of England’s Privy Council Cast on the Islamic Law of Trusts in British India